South Florida pulls away late to beat Savannah St. 67-57
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Roddy Peters scored 17 points to help South Florida hold off and beat Savannah State 67-57 on Sunday.
Jaleel Cousins had 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season for USF (2-5), which bounced back after losing to No. 1 Kentucky 84-63 on Nov. 27.
Troyce Manassa led Savannah State (3-4) with 23 points.
USF had a 10-point lead in the second half, but Savannah State cut the deficit to two on five different occasions, including 54-52 with 4:25 left after a layup by Lenjo Kilo.
USF responded with a layup by Peters and a three-point play by Jahmal McMurray to push the lead to 59-52, but could not put away the Tigers.
Manassa's layup pulled Savannah State to 60-57 with 1:47 left. The Tigers missed their next three shots and had a turnover.
Peters made three free throws, Cousins a pair of free throws, and Nehemias Morillo converted a layup as the Bulls scored the final seven points.
USF made 15 of 25 shots from the field (60 percent) in the second half and finished on 25-of-52 shooting for 48.1 percent.
Savannah State shot 35.5 percent (22 of 62) from the floor.
The Bulls led 18-11 midway through the first half and built a 26-22 halftime lead, but were unable to stretch their lead despite holding Savannah State to 27.3-percent shooting (9 for 33) in the first half.
It was the first meeting between the schools.
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TIP-INS
South Florida: Jahmal McMurray was back in the starting lineup after five games as a reserve. The freshman guard came into the game averaging a team-high 13.3 points a game. ... The Bulls shot a season-high 48.1 percent, surpassing their 46.4 percent shooting against No. 1 Kentucky.
Savannah State: The Tigers won their first three games of the season at home before dropping their last four on the road.
UP NEXT
South Florida visits Delaware State on Thursday.
Savannah State hosts Georgia State on Wednesday.
